I kinda messed my first try up (you can see that in the video) so I decided to make a template for the stitching holes. I recommend this whenever you are going to try a different shape, you can use a ruler and pen to work out how the string will go and save time and as a bonus you can keep the template to use again! Feel free to use this one if making a heart!

Directions:
1. Poke holes in cardstock using the template. Stamp a sentiment on the cardstock if desired.
2. Thread a needle with twine and stitch through holes in the order indicated on the template.
3. Attach stitched panel to mat and card.
4. Decorate inside of card if desired.

Have you tried the old-fashioned string art where you hammer nails in wood and wrap the string? That is so popular right now and I’ve seen some really fun creations! I hope you give this trendy look a try on your next card. Thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!

Happy Friday! I have a busy day ahead of me. I’ll be decorating for the Blue & Gold banquet, then teaching a craft project to my daughters class, then taking the family to the banquet tonight. Then this weekend we have parties to attend. I thought I’d pop in quickly before my hectic day starts and share a card that was published in Vamp Stamp News this month:

The cute dancers are by Crafty Secrets (did you hear they are no longer making clear stamps!?! so if you want this stamp set you better try to find it, it is called “A Couple of Cuties”) and the bottle cap, tab and sentiment are by inkadinkado. The ribbon actually came off a box of Valentine chocolates last year and I saved it, perfect huh?

BTW my valentine craft class that the library was a whopping success with over 40 people in attendance and I was afraid no-one would come. I have to thank crafty moms who pitched in (Kathy & Robin) and a quick thinking librarian (Miss Audrey) who was Jhonny-on-the-spot with the photocopier when I ran out of sheet music (I had optimisticly planned for 22 people thinking I’d be lucky to get a dozen LOL!) I’m glad I brought plenty of plenty of card making supplies, the kids were so good about working patiently on cards while they waited for me to be done helping others.

Well, I better cut this short, I have breakfast to make and kids to get moving! Til next time happy crafting!

Well, Melissa, the owner of The Rubber Cafe challenged us Design Team gals to make a card that was mainly white, clean no inked edges with a touch of red. Here is what I came up with:

This is a movement card, the heart spins back and forth down the track. Here is how to make a spin or slider card. Using a craft knife cut a 1/4″ track in the cardstock where you want your focal point to move. Then make your sliding object. I stamped a heart on a scrap of white cardstock and punched it with a 1-1/4″ punch then matted it wit a 1-1/2″ punched circle. Then I stuck a round foam dot, I cut mine by hand or you can use a round Pop-Dot. Then stick the other side to a penny. I tucked the penny through the slot and mounted the white panel to the red card with foam tape. The foam tape gives the penny in the back space to move. The stamp I used is by The Rubber Cafe, it contains 3 hearts, see upper right of card for it in it’s entirety, but I used a red Marvy LePlume brush tip marker to color just the heart I wanted to stamp and stamped it. I used my computer and the font Betsy for the sentiment and the swirls were also done on the computer with the dingbat DB dainty Swirls by Lettering Delights. Hybrid, Yay!

I punched 1-1/4″ squares and ran them through my Big Shot on a Fiskars texture plate. See how to use a Big Shot to emboss with any stencil here. If you want to emboss with a stylus or texture tool do it before you punch the squares. I used the circle and square punches from Creative Memories, I got them 6 years ago, I use them almost everyday and they keep on ticking! Both sizes are on one punch and they were expensive, $22 then, but they have lasted me!

If you wan to see more of the Designers’ challenges you can see and Melissa’s here (and be sure to wish her a happy Birthday too it’s tomorrow!)…The rest of the team is still working but you can check out their blogs under the Rubber Cafe Design team links to the right.

And I received 3 blog awards over the weekend! Thank you Sharon, Carla and Penny. You gals are so kind!

Have an awesome holiday tomorrow, Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the States, and until next time happy crafting!

Don’t you love unmounted stamps? They are cheaper, easier to store and work as well as the wood mount ones. What I don’t love is buying EZ mount foam because it adds to the cost of the stamp sets and it gets my scissors all sticky when I have to cut it apart. Solution: a cheap, quick way to mount your stamps so that you can still use them with an acrylic block. Easy as pie and easy on the wallet too!

I bought several sheets of artsy unmounted stamps a while back and Just slapped them to a block with double stick tape andI was good to go. This method is fine, just make sure you have a sheet of fun foam or a mouse pad under the paper you are stamping on. But I grew tired if replacing the tape on my blocks when the sticky was gone and they never stuck well in my storage binders with the tape. So I developed a clever way to mount them with Self adhesive foam, spray adhesive and cling vinyl.

Spray the BACK of your rubber stamps and attach to craft foam.

Step 1. Spray a generous amount of adhesive (I used Elmer’s multi purpose) on the backs of the rubber dies. You can do the whole sheet at once but mine were already cut apart.

Step 2. Quickly stick the rubber to the non adhesive side of the craft foam. Let it set for a few minutes. Check the clearance isle at the craft store of self adhesive foam, you can probably find Christmas themed sheets for pennies!

Peel off the adhesive backing on the foam and stick to a shhet of cling film. I trimmed the foam (purple) before I stuck it down.

Step 3. Peel off the paper on the sticky side of the foam and apply the cling film. The kind I have comes in 8.5″x11″ sheets made for making stamp foam work with acrylic mounts but you can probably use the stuff they sell at the fabric stores, just bring along a stamp mount to see if it will stick! This cling film will work if you have Stampin Up sets that you want to use with clear blocks. Instead of sticking them to the wood mounts stick them to this film.

All mounted and ready to go! (that sounds kinda bad, huh?)

Step 4 peel off the protective backing and it is ready to use with your acrylic mounts!

Mwahahah! My rubber Cafe DT samples! There mine all mine!...Oh alright you can get them too, there on the TRC website now LOL!

I mounted all of my Rubber Cafe stamps this way, if you order stamps from them they will come with the E-Z mount already on and trimmed but since I am on the Design Team I sometimes get the promo copy strait out of the factory! their stamps are so deeply etched that they will stamp fine without the foam but having it on makes my creating process faster and easier!

I’ve heard other creative mounting ideas too, one very frugal idea is to use foam core (you can get a 20″x30″ sheet at the dollar store of ask a frame shop for scraps) just tape or spray adhere the stamps to the foam core and you are good to go without a handle since the foamcore is rigid enough to be it’s own block. It may bend and wear out over time but hey it only cost a few sents! Good to know if you are in a jam!

Want to do something fun with you stash of Rub-On transfers? Well here is something: Apply them to watercolor paper or white cardstock then paint over them with watercolors! You can also stamp with clear pigment ink, emboss in clear and paint over that too…so much fun how can you resist?

Stamps by the rubber cafe, talk about irresistible!

The lovely stamps used here (Framed Heart and Scroll Border) are from The Rubber Cafe. I used Elmers Paintastics to paint over the rub-on and to “ink” the scroll boarder. Paintastics can be found in the kids isle of your craft store, there cheap and the are wonderful, the paint is in the brush and you can refil them or fill them with plain water when you are done for a waterbrush…recycling, got to love that!